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Stop Playing Around, Cancel All NFL Preseason Games

As the NFL and NFL Players Association debate playing just two preseason games instead of four, perhaps players’ concerns should be more important than worrying about meaningless exhibitions where the league has always profited from charging full price.

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s never been a secret that some NFL veterans see preseason games as a waste of time.

Indianapolis Colts all-time leading rusher Edgerrin James was quite candid about his disdain for playing in exhibitions that didn’t count in the standings. When the Colts were planning to play a preseason game in Tokyo, Japan, James joked, “The closest I’m getting to Japan is Benihana’s.”

James did, in fact, make the trip.

On another occasion, James was enlightened that back in the day, the NFL had six preseason games.

“I’d have to get hurt for real,” he said.

Get the point?

So why, amid the Coronavirus pandemic, would the NFL persist on playing two preseason games? The first and last ones have already been canceled. The NFL Players Association doesn’t consider the other two exhibitions worth the risk.

Then there’s the possibility of players being allowed to opt out of the 2020 season entirely, a proposal currently under consideration but expected to be passed. So some players, presumably established veterans who have already built up enough security, could decide to play it safe for the entire year.

The NFL has always profited from charging full price for preseason games where starters usually play about half the game, and that’s in games two and three. And anybody nursing any kind of minor injury — or as was in Edge’s case, will say something is sore — won’t play at all.

It’s highly unlikely fans will be allowed in the stands for any games this season unless a vaccine is passed and the increasing trend of Coronavirus cases decreases dramatically at some point.

So let’s put all this together, so it’s crystal clear.

Players are concerned about playing at all. Some never want to risk an injury in any preseason games. Fans usually charged full price won’t be allowed in the stadiums. And Coronavirus cases are increasing across the country, so much so that some states that re-opened have had to reverse course and shut down.

Are we missing anything?

There is a common suggestion that teams need to develop chemistry in the preseason, and the best way to do that is in these games. And teams need to see their rookies and young players to properly assess who makes the roster.

But think about what we see in those games. Teams run vanilla offensive and defensive schemes because they don’t want to provide too much advance notice of what they intend to do in the regular season. So the games are boring and borderline unwatchable most of the time.

Everyone is rightfully concerned about whether there will be an NFL regular season. We wonder how or if the NFL can pull it off.

Nobody, except for maybe the NFL front office and owners, cares about preseason games.

If ever there was a time when these games were truly meaningless, it’s now.

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)